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Safana Atwan
Professor Katrina Newsom
ENG 1020
20 October 2011
The Ignorance of Humanity
The great philosopher, Aristotle, once stated, “We do not act rightly because we
have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.”
Coach Harold Jones from the film Radio acts on that strong statement. He is a man of
excellence because he does the right thing by standing up for a disabled young man
that a community has made into an outcast. Radio is a beautiful and heart-warming film
which was released in October of 2003 by Sony Pictures. Radio takes place in the small
town of Anderson, South Carolina of 1976. This film is based on a true story about a
young African American male, nicknamed Radio, who suffers from a mental disability.
This film is a story of Radio’s struggles with the townspeople’s prejudice and hurtful
actions towards him and how that is overcome with the help of the football coach,
Harold Jones. The writer, Mike Rich, claims that a single human has the capability to
change the life of a disabled man in need of guidance, no matter how many obstacles
come in the way. Rich also sets a situation of whether or not mentally-ill people should
be allowed to interact with society. This film shows how inhumane it is to outcast
mentally disabled people for these people can teach a whole community the true values
of life. The character Radio portrays the importance of family, the need for simple acts
of kindness, and the importance of forgiveness. He does so by being an ethical citizen
and neighbor, appealing to emotions, and always being confident.
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Radio, real name James Robert Kennedy, is a very mannered and ethical human
being. He maintains this quality throughout the many disrespectful actions some of the
townspeople have done to him. His mother, Maggie, describes Radio, “He’s just like
everybody else, just a little slower than most.” In the beginning of this film, Radio is lured
into a shed by a few members of the football team, then taped up and locked in there.
While Radio lays curled up on the ground frightened, the football players stood around
the shed laughing and throwing footballs against the walls. Coach Jones discovers the
players do this and carefully sets Radio free then pursues to punish the wrongdoers.
After seeing the terrified look on Radio’s face, Coach Jones took it upon himself to
make change in Radio’s life. Some of the football players continued to trick Radio into
doing things like going in the girl’s changing room while there were girls changing
inside. Once Radio realizes that there are girls in there, he instantly turns around and
runs the opposite way saying, “Bad Radio!” This shows Radio’s morals and shows the
boy that set him up to do this how wrong it was. Radio refuses to tell Coach Jones who
tricked him but that did not stop Coach Jones from finding out that Johnny is to blame
so he did not allow him to play in the next game. Radio decides to leave a note with one
of his radios in front of Johnny’s locker the day he comes back. This was Radio’s way of
apologizing for something he is not to blame for. Johnny takes a look Radio’s attempt at
writing, which consists of scribbles, and his face instantly becomes smooth. On that
day, Radio taught Johnny how to make a simple act of kindness. The townspeople also
come together to help Radio, with Coach Jones’ encouragement, and they give a truck
load of gifts to Radio for Christmas because they know of his low financial capabilities.
Instead of keeping all those gifts, Radio decides to fill his shopping cart, which he takes
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everywhere, with these gifts and he walks down his street and joyously places one gift
on each porch. This act of ultimate kindness shows Radio’s ethical values. He thinks of
others not only himself. Radio teaches the town true values and ethical standards, as
some of the townspeople disapprove of Radio’s increasing involvement in the
community.
Radio teaches the town the importance of compassion through his emotional
actions. Coach Jones realizes the importance of family from Radio’s grand love for his
mother. Coach Jones has a wife and a daughter, Mary Helen, with whom he is not close
to. After Radio’s mother has a heart attack and passes away very suddenly, Coach
Jones is the only person that is able to talk to Radio and comfort him. On that night,
Coach Jones confides in his daughter with a personal childhood story that explains why
he is doing what he’s doing with Radio. The love and compassion Radio shows not only
affects Coach Jones, it also affects the student of Hanna High School. Coach Jones
states, “The way he treats us all the time is the way we wish would treat each other
even part of the time.” Radio treats everyone like a friend; he smiles and greets any
person he comes by. The boy who tormented Radio the most, Johnny, is greatly
affected by Radio’s manners and polite behavior. During Radio’s graduation from grade
eleven, Johnny surprises Radio with a letterman jacket that Radio could not afford. The
compassion Radio shows to everyone has allowed everyone to love him and treat
others the same way. Radio’s attitude about life made Coach Jones realize what he was
missing in his life; his family. After Coach Jones’ epiphany, he decided to resign as
head football coach in order to make time to spend with his family while he is capable of
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doing so. The inclusion of a mentally disabled man, like Radio, teaches a community
the true values of life like family.
Radio is a young man that walks and acts with pride and confidence. His first act
of confidence is when Radio chooses to return to the football field and help the players
during practice because Coach Jones invites him to do so after the shed incident. It
takes a great deal of courage do help those who have caused one pain and terror.
Radio again shows his confidence and courage when he steps up and apologizes to
Johnny for being the reason that Johnny was not allowed to play one of the games.
Even though this incident was fully Johnny’s fault because he set Radio up to walk into
a room full of girls in towels, Radio felt the need to present Johnny with a gift and an
apology. This action turned in favor of Radio in the end. Johnny realized his actions
were immoral and then became friendly and kind to Radio. He then, with the help of his
teammates, decided to buy Radio a letterman jacket for his grade eleven graduation.
This shows the power of Radio’s confidence rubbing off on his classmates. Johnny
became a changed man after experiencing the power of Radio’s personality. Just as
Radio’s mother says to Coach Jones, “There’s a whole lot out there that’s right, don’t
mean we always do it.” Johnny and others in the community are learning right from
wrong and the importance of morality all from the actions of Radio.
Radio’s begins as a quiet and self-reserved young male who transforms into an
outgoing and beloved citizen. This is done with the great help of Coach Harold Jones of
the Hanna High School football team. Coach Jones takes it upon himself to help Radio
become more involved with the community while the rest of the town felt it unsafe to do
so. The argument in this film is whether or not mentally ill people should be allowed to
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interact within a community. The townspeople proved to be ignorant towards the
mentally disabled. Radio’s unique qualities and personality changed the townspeople’s
view on the values of life. He does so by being a morally conscious citizen, showing a
great deal of emotion, and always acting with confidence. Throughout this film, Radio
teaches many about the true meaning of life and to never take a single thing for
granted. He also portrays the true way to treat your neighbors and fellow community
members. Radio’s unique qualities have allowed him to grow to become the dearly
loved coach of Hanna High School’s football team. A single innocent, kind-hearted man
has changed the life of many others around him by unknowingly teaching a community
of right and wrong. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Almost always, the creative
dedicated minority has made the world better.”
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Works Cited
"Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. 2011. Web. 10 Oct.
2011.
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html>.
Radio. Dir. Michael Tollin. Perf. Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger. Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment, 2005. DVD.
"Value Quotes." Ethics Quotations on Value and Values. 2003-2010. Web. 10 Oct.
2011. <http://www.valuequotes.net/>.